Nepal gov’t offers cash aid to families affected by COVID-19

KATHMANDU, Nov. 11– The Nepali government on Thursday encouraged eligible families to apply for cash grants to poor households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in a relief scheme announced earlier. “We want the ward offices to select the eligible poor families based on the criteria of the guidelines,” Ritesh Kumar Shakya, spokesperson for the ministry, told…

KATHMANDU, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) — The Nepali government on Thursday encouraged eligible families to apply for cash grants to poor households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in a relief scheme announced earlier.

Under the relief plan included in the budget for the current 2021-22 fiscal year starting in mid-July, the government shall distribute 10,000 Nepali rupees (84 U.S. dollars) in one-off subsidy to each eligible family, which is the first time to do so after the coronavirus had battered the country twice since early 2020.

A total of 500,000 families will benefit from the government’s scheme at a cost of 5 billion rupees (42 million dollars).

As per the notice issued by the Ministry of Finance, workers unemployed after losing jobs amid the pandemic, daily wage earners, agricultural laborers, rickshaw pullers, tourism-related porters and families losing sole breadwinners, among others, can apply for the government’s support at ward offices within 15 days.

“We want the ward offices to select the eligible poor families based on the criteria of the guidelines,” Ritesh Kumar Shakya, spokesperson for the ministry, told Xinhua.

“Once the eligible beneficiaries are selected, local governments will deposit 10,000 Nepali rupees in the account of each beneficiary,” he added.

More than 700,000 people alone lost their jobs due to the first wave of COVID-19, according to a study by the National Planning Commission. Enditem